Early life
Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar was born on June 22, 1974, in Madras to film director S.A. Chandrashekhar and playback singer Shoba Chandrasekhar. Tragedy struck early in his life when his younger sister Vidhya passed away at age two. He attended Loyola College, where he balanced academics with his burgeoning acting career, having already appeared as a child actor in Tamil films.